Catheter sheath introducers are well known in the health care industry as a means of providing access to the circulatory system for a number of applications. In a now well know process, the catheter sheath introducer is placed in a desired blood vessel to facilitate various procedures. Among these medical procedures, for example, are mapping, ablation and balloon angioplasty which require the manipulation of catheters through the circulatory system.
Catheter introducers typically include a tubular sheath and a hub attached to a proximal end of the sheath. Throughout a medical procedure, a number of medical devices may be received or fed through the hub and sheath, including a dilator, a guide wire and/or one or more catheters. Catheters especially may have long shafts that require much manipulation to pass through the hub and sheath in order to reach the desired position in the body to effect the medical procedure. However, catheter shafts can slip rotationally and/or longitudinally in the sheath, increasing the effort needed to correctly position the diagnostic or therapeutic distal portion of the catheter within the body.
Accordingly, a need exists for a catheter sheath introducer with improved hold and retention of catheters and other medical devices extending there through without significantly increasing the force required to advance the catheter or medical device through the sheath.